KOTA KINABALU - The police Special Branch said today there could be subversive elements among the foreigners who received blue identity cards illegally and therefore Project IC was a threat to national security.
“We do not know where these people came from or their backgrounds. They could be criminals or subversive in nature or similar things.
“This becomes a threat, not only to security, but also to political, economic and social stability,” assessment officer Ahmad Fauzan Mohd told the royal commission of inquiry on immigrants in Sabah today.
Ahmad, who is based in the security and human trafficking syndicate division of the Kuala Lumpur Special Branch, said he was tasked with assessing intelligence during the crackdown on Project IC.
Having led the intelligence component of the six-year investigation beginning in 1995, Ahmad said, they detected a syndicate that was illegally issuing identity cards, which was also involved in human trafficking.
As a result, he said, 94 people who were involved in the syndicate were arrested under the Internal Security Act between 1995 to 2001.
Of this, 80 were given a two-year detention under the act, six was placed under restricted residence and eight more were freed unconditionally.
Ahmad added that the detention order was signed by the then deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub (right).
Asked why none of these individuals were charged after being released from ISA, Ahmad explained this was the norm for all cases.
However, he said, 3,035 people who were beneficiaries of fraudulent identity cards had been charged in court with possessing the documents.
Ahmad added that from the intelligence assessed, the syndicate was driven by monetary gain valued at more than RM11 million.
“Each client (foreigner) was charged between RM50 and RM1,400... They included, agents, sub-agents as well as National Registration Department (NRD) officers,” he said
‘Other motives not considered’
However, when pressed if he had considered whether the syndicate had other motives, he replied: “I had no reason to look at other motives because the monetary gain (motive) is already there.”
Pressed if this meant his research was only “one-track”, he replied: “Yes”.
Ahmad said the topmost officials involved and subsequently arrested were former Sabah NRD directors Abdul Rauf Sani and Ramli Kamarudin.
Queried by watching brief lawyer Ansari Abdullah whether politicians were among those arrested, Ahmad said he he merely assessed their activities and did not take note of their political affiliations.
The questioning was led by conducting officer Manoj Kurup.
Also taking the stand today was NRD information technology assistant director Laila Abdul Wajid, who explained that the NRD data was linked to the Election Commission through the Agency Linked-Up System.
Aside from this, Laila explained, the EC also periodically sent the names of its registered voters, in bulk, to the NRD for vetting.
“There was also a full vetting of the entire electoral roll of 11.8 million voters (by NRD) in 2011,” she said.
Every month, she said, the NRD would send an average of 8,000 to 10,000 names of those who were above the age of 21, as well as names of citizens who have died, to the EC for the electoral roll to be updated.
Laila added that 66,682 people had been granted citizenship in Sabah between 1963 and October 2012. Of this, 59,276 are still alive.
Nigel Aw
Subversives?
ReplyDeleteRCI adalah satu platform penting
ReplyDeleteSemoga RCI melaksanakan tugas dengan penuh integriti.
DeleteJangan biarkan aktiviti haram ini berkembang besar.
DeleteInstant action?
ReplyDeleteSiapakah mereka itu?
ReplyDeleteRCI is a way to identify the facts.
ReplyDeleteThe people are waiting about what is happening about the PATI.
DeleteAnd it is a way to know what is happening back then
ReplyDeleteBersikap adil.
ReplyDeleteIsu ini amat sensitif.
ReplyDeleteIni merupakan satu mercu untuk mengenal pasti punca masalah.
ReplyDeleteBeri masa yang mencukupi untuk RCI melaksanakan tugasnya.
DeleteBack in time, in another place different environment, I'm quite certain. What's dangerous? One could fall in love with darkness unknowingly. It's human nature to gravitate towards safety. Regardless of their own heinous acts prior.
ReplyDeleteSo, what, where or who is the first defense?
Misunderstanding of the laws and procedures on the issuance of birth certificate, identification card and citizenship has caused confusion and consternation towards the National Registration Department (NRD).
ReplyDeleteNRD public relations officer Jainisah Mohd Noor said many have the wrong impression while others do not have a clue at all about the regulations and processes involved but instead blamed the department when their applications were rejected for not meeting the stipulated requirements.
DeleteShe said some people, for example, did not know that having been born in Malaysia and registered for a birth certificate does not automatically qualify their children for citizenship.
DeleteThe constitution states that a child is considered a Malaysian citizen when both or one of the parents are legally recognized as Malaysian or a holder of permanent resident status. However, she highlighted there were other matters that needed to be taken into account before the child can be given Malaysian citizenship.
Delete“To determine the status of the child, we will also look at the marriage status of the parents. In cases where the marriage is not legally registered and the mother is a non-citizen, the child would not qualify for citizenship, even if the father is a Malaysian.
Delete“However, if the mother is a permanent resident or Malaysian, the child would automatically be Malaysian, even if the father is not and the marriage is not legally recognized or registered. In other words, the status of the mother would determine the status of the child when there is no marriage certificate.
Delete“In cases where a marriage certificate is obtained and registered with the NRD after the child was born, the child in question would still not qualify as a Malaysian, because we are bound with the fact that she or he was born before that,” she said, during a media briefing on “Malaysian Identification Card Evolution” at Wisma Dang Bandang here yesterday.
DeleteAccording to Jainisah, many locals married to foreigners in Sabah did not know this and were frustrated when their children were given a Red IC instead of a Blue IC.
DeleteShe admitted there were cases where parents were confused after several of their children were given permanent resident status but their other children who were born after their marriage had been registered with the NRD were given full citizenship.
DeleteThe parents would usually demand for the same status to be given to their older children and would be disappointed when their demand is not met, thinking that the NRD had made a mistake and was refusing to admit and rectify it.
DeleteMeanwhile, Jainisah stressed that it is important that the birth and death of every individual is registered with the NRD regardless of their status, as this will provide vital information that would help the authorities in planning development or other programmes in the country.
DeleteOn the status of natives, she said it was not for the NRD to determine as the department is only responsible for citizenship matters.
DeleteEarlier Jainisah explained the various changes and improvement that have been introduced to all three types of Malaysian Identification cards, namely the Blue IC (for citizen), Red IC (permanent resident) and Green IC (temporary resident).
DeleteShe said the security features used have evolved since the first Malaysian citizen card bearing serial number 000001 (orange in colour back then) was issued to Tun Mustapha in 1963.
DeleteThe latest IC used today is the seventh version with several new and upgraded features that are nearly impossible to forge, including microtext, laser imprinted photo and text, secureguard hologram and tone down printing.
DeleteAsked if NRD had carried out any effort to review the status of IC holders to help the Election Commission remove names of deceased individuals from the voters list, she said the department continuously updates its databases whenever a death is reported. The information is available for the EC or any other government agencies to refer to for updating their own databases, she added.
DeleteHowever, she said the NRD can only change the status of a person to ‘deceased’ and issue a death certificate after the receiving information supported with proper documentation or proof that the person has died.
DeleteNRD should be the first to investigate.
DeleteNRD harus nerhati-hati semasa mengeluarkan identiti kepada pemohon. Banyak yang disyaki latar belakangnya tidak layak langsung.
DeletePihak yang salah gunakan kuasa dan memberi dokumen sewenang-wenangnya harus dikenakan hukuman.
DeleteMisunderstanding of the laws and procedures on the issuance of birth certificate, identification card and citizenship has caused confusion and consternation towards the National Registration Departmen
ReplyDeletethe wrong impression while others do not have a clue at all about the regulations and processes involved but instead blamed the department when their applications were rejected for not meeting the stipulated requirements.
ReplyDeleteSome people, for example, did not know that having been born in Malaysia and registered for a birth certificate does not automatically qualify their children for citizenship.
ReplyDeleteSemua permohonan harus mengikut prosedur yang betul.
DeleteThe constitution states that a child is considered a Malaysian citizen when both or one of the parents are legally recognized as Malaysian or a holder of permanent resident status.
ReplyDeletethere were other matters that needed to be taken into account before the child can be given Malaysian citizenship.
DeleteTo determine the status of the child, NRD will also look at the marriage status of the parents.
ReplyDeletethe marriage is not legally registered and the mother is a non-citizen, the child would not qualify for citizenship, even if the father is a Malaysian.
Deleteif the mother is a permanent resident or Malaysian, the child would automatically be Malaysian, even if the father is not and the marriage is not legally recognized or registered.
DeletePemberian mykad masih banyak masalah. Sistem kini harus diperbaiki lagi.
DeleteIn cases where a marriage certificate is obtained and registered with the NRD after the child was born, the child in question would still not qualify as a Malaysian, because NRD are bound with the fact that she or he was born before that
ReplyDeletemany locals married to foreigners in Sabah did not know this and were frustrated when their children were given a Red IC instead of a Blue IC.
ReplyDeleteThe latest IC used today is the seventh version with several new and upgraded features that are nearly impossible to forge, including microtext, laser imprinted photo and text, secureguard hologram and tone down printing.
ReplyDeleteAda kemungkinan juga mereka yang berbangsa filipin mempunyai mykad bersekongkol dengan tentera yang mencerobih masuk itu.
ReplyDeleteSenior Special Branch officer Supt Ahmad Fauzan Mohamad told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants that the identity cards were sold to the illegal immigrants for between RM50 and RM1,400 each.
DeleteHe said based on investigation and research, those involved in the scam made an estimated RM11 million from selling the identity cards.
DeleteAhmad Fauzan, the 57th witness at the hearing which resumed yesterday after a three week break, was involved in a police operation between 1995 and 2001 to investigate the alleged issuance of identity cards to illegal immigrants in Sabah.
Delete"It was obvious that the motive was purely monetary gains," he said.
He also testified that 94 people, including 24 Sabah NRD officers, were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) between 1995 and 2001 for their involvement in the syndicate.
DeleteThe detention orders for 80 of the 94 people were signed by then deputy home minister the late Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub.
DeleteQuestioned by conducting officer Manoj Kurup on the breakdown of arrest, Ahmad Fauzan said 40 were arrested in 1995, 19 in 1996, 26 in 1997, eight in 1998 and one in 2001.
DeleteTwo former Sabah NRD directors, Datuk Abdul Rauf Sani and Ramli Kamaruddin, were among the NRD officers detained.
DeleteAhmad Fauzan, who is from the security and documents forgery division in Kuala Lumpur, said the operation of the syndicate was well-organised.
Delete"Our investigation and research revealed that there were also agents from the public and sub-agents involved in issuing and selling the identity cards,” he told the five-member RCI panel headed by former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong.
DeleteAhmad Fauzan, who conducted a research and assessment on the syndicate, noted that the syndicate’s operations had threatened national security because it involved the issuance of citizenship to foreigners through dubious means.
Delete"What the syndicate did encourages human trafficking of foreigners whose background is not known to us. They may be criminals and a threat to social and political stability," he said, adding that 3,035 foreigners had been charged in court by other enforcement agencies for having in their possession forged identity cards.
DeletePrincipal assistant director information technology division of the NRD headquarters in Kuala Lumpur Laila Abdul Majid told the panel that the department had over the years taken various measures to improve quality and security features of identity cards.
DeleteStringent checks were also conducted on identity card applications to ensure that only genuine Malaysians were granted the document.
DeleteThe NRD had also established an Agency Link-up System (ALIS) to allow it to share personal details of identity card holders stored in its database with relevant government departments and agencies, such as the Election Commission and the police.
DeleteSerahkan kepada RCI untuk membuat siasatan yang berpatutan dan membuat dakwaan kepada mana-mana pihak yang menjalankan aktiviti haram ini.
ReplyDeleteThe Election Commission (EC) has removed a total of 78,340 names from the Sabah electoral roll as of the third quarter of last year.
ReplyDeleteThey were part of the 1,133,279 names deleted nationwide in a continuous effort to clean up the country’s electoral roll, according to Election Commission Information Technology Division’s chief assistant secretary, Shafee Sajat, yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThe 58th witness in the hearing by Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants (RCI) in Sabah testified that 979,943 of the names were deleted after the National Registration Department (NRD) confirmed the voters had died.
ReplyDeleteHe said the rest, 20,000 including 2,810 in Sabah, were those whose citizenship had been revoked and 7,286 individuals with no record in the NRD, including three in Sabah.
ReplyDeleteElaborating on electorate whose record could not be found in the NRD database, he said the names were detected after the EC had conducted a cross-check of their identification card numbers with the NRD.
ReplyDeleteRCI proceedings observer, Datuk Chau Chin Tang, questioned the significant increase in the number of registered voters in Sabah, from 807,862 in 2008 to 959,669 in the second half of last year.
ReplyDeleteShafee responded that a decrease or increase in the number of electorate from one year to another was normal which was caused by registration of new voters or removal of existing names due to death or change of voting address to outside of Sabah.
ReplyDeleteHe also told the inquiry that there were 40,955 non-Sabahans who were registered as voters in the State while 30,586 were Sabahans born in other states, with 8,656 of them born in Sarawak.
ReplyDeleteOn voters who were born overseas, he said there were over 8,000 of them in the electoral roll.
Sindiket melibatkan bekas pengarah Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) Sabah mendapat RM11 juta hasil daripada penjualan kad pengenalan (IC) kepada pendatang haram di Sabah, Suruhanjaya Siasatan Di Raja (RCI) diberitahu hari ini.
ReplyDeletePegawai Polis Kanan Cawangan Khas (SB) Ahmad Fauzan Mohamad juga berkata hari ini tiada seorang pun daripada 94 orang yang ditahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) sepanjang 1995-2001 kerana penglibatan mereka dalam sindiket, didakwa di mahkamah.
ReplyDeleteDianggarkan lebih kurang RM11 juta dikumpulkan hasil dari tindakan ini,” kata Ahmad Fauzan semasa RCI di sini hari ini
ReplyDeleteAhmad Fauzan, yang bertugas di jabatan polis bahagian keselamatan, sindiket dan penyeludupan manusia di Kuala Lumpur juga menegaskan sindiket itu hanya didorong oleh keuntungan kewangan, dan bukan atas sebab-sebab politik.
ReplyDeleteSaya tidak ada sebab untuk melihat motif lain kerana keuntungan kewangan sudah ada,” katanya.
ReplyDeleteSebelum ini bekas pengarah JPN Ramli Kamarudin, bagaimanapun, memberitahu RCI bulan lepas bekas Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub mengarahkan dirinya untuk mengeluarkan resit JPN, yang sama dengan nama dan nombor kad pengenalan pengundi berdaftar kepada pendatang.
ReplyDeletePilihan raya negeri 1994 menyaksikan Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) menang 25 daripada 48 kerusi DUN.
ReplyDeleteAhmad Fauzan mengatakan hari ini Ramli ditahan selama dua tahun dibawah ISA dari 1996 hingga 1998, manakala seorang lagi bekas pengarah JPN Sabah Datuk Abdul Rauf Sani diletakkan di bawah kediaman terhad selama enam bulan pada 1996.
ReplyDeleteegawai SB DSP Badaruddin Ismail memberikan keterangan bulan lepas Ramli telah menjual 16,000 resit JPN dengan berharga lebih RM1 juta yang membenarkan pendatang Sabah untuk mengundi. Ramli menjual setiap resit dengan harga RM250 sepanjang 1993 dan 1995 kepada pendatang haram dari Filipina, India, Pakistan dan negara lain, menurut Badaruddin.
ReplyDeleteBadaruddin juga mengatakan Abdul Rauf telah menjual 6,305 kad pengenalan kepada pendatang Filipina dan Indonesia juga kepada rakyat tempatan dengan harga RM167,300. Abdul Rauf memberitahu RCI bulan lepas kad pengenalan biru juga dikeluarkan untuk meningkatkan jumlah pengundi Islam di Sabah. Beliau mengatakan beliau sedar pendatang di Sabah diajar bagaimana untuk mengundi dalam pilihan raya, jika tidak, kad pengenalan mereka akan dibatalkan.
ReplyDeleteAhmad Fauzan mengatakan hari ini setiap IC dijual di antara RM50 hingga RM1,400, tetapi menambah beliau tidak mengetahui identiti penerima. Beliau sedar operasi sindiket tersebut telah mengancam keselamatan negara.
ReplyDeleteOpposition using RCI issue for political gains
ReplyDeleteIt could be highly possibly that the opposition led byAnwar may be worried over the possibility of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government resolving the illegal immigrants’ issue in Sabah, once and for all because they do not support the RCI to accomplish the task
DeleteBN government was serious about solving the perennial illegal immigrants problem in Sabah
DeletePeople should not easily believe the lie and slanders that the opposition spread. Evaluate wisely!
Delete